Jack Frost

 Today, as I write this, I am incredulous to write that I had the day off from school because of the snow.

There was no snow where I live! I couldn't believe it when I received the message saying we had no school but apparently there was where my school is!

However, there was constant frost all weekend.

On Saturday, I was out in the garden in my pyjamas to rip up the teabags from school (98 this week!) and I noticed some beautiful frost which I decided to photograph!

Then again, my bike chain got tangled as I put up my bike after church so I ended up walking my bike home so I noticed lots of pretty frost decked foliage.

Please enjoy!

Snow

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A post shared by Kezzie (@kezziesquirrel)

 

I recorded this little video on the Sunday when it started to snow, almost 2 weeks ago.

I was watching the church service whilst I filmed this (this was the 'waiting' music) and the music was quite a nice accompaniment to this.

Was very exciting to have snow!

Advent calendar Scavenger Hunt 14- Snowman

I shared some of the stockings from the church Christmas tree last week. This week, during our Pop up nativity, I was sitting the opposite side and I could see these snowmen very clearly.

They're very blingy! Definitely, these snowmen have been Puttin' on the Ritz!

I don't know why this one on the right makes me smile so much- something about its slightly inane smile!




Julie's list:

• Letterbox
• Something handcrafted for Christmas
• Favourite Christmas recipe
• Christmas book(s)
• Stained glass window
• Robin
• Bell(s)
• Sleigh
• Christmas Bauble
• Holly and Ivy
• Snowman
• Angel
• First Christmas card received in the post
• Christmas crackers
• Tree before dressed
• Tree after dressed
• Christmas wrapping paper
• Mistletoe
• Stocking or Christmas Sack/Bag
• Wrapped present(s)
• Winter
• Father Christmas
• Nativity
• The Night Before Christmas

Advent Calendar Scavenger Hunt Day 8- Winter

WINTER is coming! Or, rather, it is HERE!
We woke up to find it had snowed through the night and the outside world was blanketed in a new coat of the finest, soft, white snow.

We have had snow once before since living here but it is the first time it has really settled in the daylight. Doesn't our lovely long garden look a picture.

 I also liked how the breezeblock and iron gate look with a sprinkling of snow too. You can see my leeks in the pots to the left bottom which are covered in a layer.

Sadly, the carol service at church was cancelled tonight because of the risk of older people getting there. I am rather sad as it will probably be my last Christmas at this church since it seems we shall complete on our house within the week! Chris, who organises the Christmas music has extracted a promise from me to come and play at the Christmas carol service next year, even if I am at a different church which seems likely as we will live at least a 20minute train journey away as well as 1mile walk at either end.

I confess to feeling anxious about the journey to work in the morning as I have two trains and two lots of walking and I shall have luggage with me tomorrow and also anxious about the fact I am about to part with vast quantities of money to the solicitors!

Hope you are well and the winter is not causing you disruption!
xx



Julie's list:

• Letterbox
• Something handcrafted for Christmas
• Favourite Christmas recipe
• Christmas book(s)
• Stained glass window
• Robin
• Bell(s)
• Sleigh
• Christmas Bauble
• Holly and Ivy
• Snowman
• Angel
• First Christmas card received in the post
• Christmas crackers
• Tree before dressed
• Tree after dressed
• Christmas wrapping paper
• Mistletoe
• Stocking or Christmas Sack/Bag
• Wrapped present(s)
• Winter
• Father Christmas
• Nativity
• The Night Before Christmas

Miserable Russian lady visits London's oldest wine bar

There is a reason I smile in all my blog photos (or virtually all of them).  This is because I look like this if I don't smile! Miserable!   CBC met me at Stratford on Sunday to go up to London to a friend's birthday.  We got on the central line and I sat down.  I was suddenly aware of being watched and saw CBC with his Smartphone up in 'photo position'.  I glowered at him sullenly aware that he was mocking my garb and the result is this (with some old-fashioned grainy filter on to make me look even more like an extra missing from a Chekhov film!
With the 'inclement weather' (I do love that phrase- it feels so contrived!) I brought out the big-guns in the hat department with my Joyce Anderson of Corbridge sheepskin cossack hat but decided that it needed cheering up so added the turquoise butterfly clip which CBC found rather incongruous!

We headed up to a place near Embankment tube station called Gordons Wine Bar which is apparently London's oldest Wine Bar, established 1890 (and possibly the oldest in the world)  If you want to go somewhere atmospheric and different to drink wine (and not much else I am afraid- the only other choices are orange juice or water but you can bring in your Starbucks coffee if you want, as one of our companions discovered).  It is located in a cellar- so you sit at Candle-lit (and lamplight) tables with the roof barely above your head (you have to stoop to stand if you are Giraffe-like).  It is surprisingly warm and cosy.  We sat in a cubby at the end and happily sat there for several hours.  The only downside of it being a snowstorm all day was there did end up being drips on our coats by the walls, since it is a cellar and the walls and roof are near you.

The wine and the food is served a bit higher up some steps with proper ceilings.  A cheery-kind man was serving the food.  It was buffet-style.  You could buy a roast-dinner plate, carvery style for around £10.95 but what we went for was the cheese platter.  For £12, you got to choose 3 large slabs of cheeses (and they were big and I tried 3 large chunks of cheeses before I chose) the equivalent of almost a whole baguette sliced and then you can help yourself to pickles, chutney, butter, gherkins etc from the 'cold buffet' (there's also cold meat platters and a pate platter with bread and pickles which we got for £5.95 I think).
The Corsican ghost's cheese was delicious as was Saint-Nectaire and something else!  I had a mulled-wine (£4) which is the only tolerable-way for me to drink wine.



If you're interested in the history-side, it really hasn't changed in the years it has been there and apparently, quoting the website, it has an impressive residential history:

...the building in which the bar is situated was home to Samuel Pepys in the 1680s and more recently (1820) by Minier & Fair, a firm of seedsmen who used it as a warehouse. This came to an abrupt end when, in 1864, the river was embanked and the warehouse landlocked, following which it was turned into accommodation and Gordon's wine bar began its life. Rudyard Kipling lived in the building in the 1890s as a tenant and famously wrote “The light that failed” in the parlour above the bar, the building is now named Kipling House. Angus Gordon who set up the bar in 1890 was one of the few remaining “free vintners” who were able to set up and sell wine anywhere without applying for a license as a result of Edward III’s Charter to them in 1364 – granted as a result of his financial embarrassment at being unable to repay a loan made by the Vintners to him some years earlier! The current Gordon family who own the bar are not actually related to Angus Gordon but it was a happy coincidence that Luis Gordon discovered the bar and took it over in 1975 so was able to maintain the Gordon name.

Taken from the website, quoted above.

I really recommend it, it was a really friendly place and I enjoyed the vibe in there, plus it's so convenient being located close to Embankment tube (Circle, District, Northern and Bakerloo lines) on Villier's street.


After we left, CBC and I with a friend, went to look at the river where we delighted in the virtues of waterproof gloves and made really satisfying snowballs without a hint of wet-frozen hand I am used to and attempted to throw snowballs onto the deck of a small rowing boat moored alongside the dock.  We almost managed it, but no, we were too rubbish!

You can see me modelling my new Christmas frilly umbrella and also my Yaxtrax snow-grips! Honestly, I really recommend them- you can attach them to any shoe, not only sturdy-walking boots like mine, you can attach them to any of your high-heeled fashionable boots, they have rubber construction at the edges so they wont mark your shoe. I bought mine from QVC last year

****
In other news- I caught a MOUSE!!!!! I spotted a little mickey run across my floor the other day and I bought a humane mousetrap which yielded fruit in under a day.  I came home to mickey trapped inside.  I took him along to the park and released him where he frantically scurried away.  Let's hope he doesn't come back, which everyone has ominously told me they do if you are kind to them! Anyone have mouse-experiences they can share?

52 weeks of happy (weeks 2 and 3)

Alas, I missed out on last week, so here's a 2x +2 post (i.e. two weeks worth of 4 plus a m=bonus 2).



1. Snow silliness! Yes, it can be scary walking and travelling, after my broken wrist and sprained wrist of 2 years ago, I am over-cautious, but it still puts a romantic, beautiful sheen on everything!

 
2. CBC’s experimental cookery-
Bear with me on this.  He'll be really cross I took and posted a photo but honestly, it was amazing!!!!!!!
Radishes, sugar-snap peas, tomatoes, red pointed peppers, chicory, pomegranate balsamic vinegar, olive oil with orange, goats yoghurt, coriander and a PieMinster Heidi-pie. It tasted absolutely wonderful!!!!!!!


3. Swimming:
I haven’t been for soo sooo long!!! It made me feel really relaxed, invigorated and it’s always fun to don a vintage-look polka dot swimsuit! I also love the fact that CBC enjoys the fun, silly games I do, like, see who can stay on the ledge the longest!



4. Healing- sometimes, you can be in receipt of a miracle! See previous post for why



5. Dressing like a mad old lady! I have been wearing the mad cat lady jumper, folk-fiddle t-shirt, and an old lady scarf-clip with a silk-scarf (vintage, via charity shop)


6. My snow-grips- they keep me upright and safe!!! If you've ever broken a limb slipping in the snow, you will know how it knocks your confidence in the snow, the worry of slipping- you can see from the footprints how these babies cut through the snow.


7. My church family. Old and young, I adore them- I really do- they are so kind, humble, funny, unique and caring. I sat in church on Thursday night and felt near to tears as I regarded these humble, loving people dancing in joy.



8. My new Tiffany Lamp. It prompted rearrangement of my front room to place it in a place of glory (and heck, not much would persuade me to move furniture!). I’ve wanted one for so long, ever since I saw Hale and Pace on a TV programme as a teenager where they had to try and create a catwalk collection- they used Tiffany Lamps as inspiration for their buttons in their collection. I’d never seen one before and I loved them. So pretty! CBC remembered this and bought me the perfect little one for Christmas.



9. Warm houses- I started to get a cold on Thursday and my house, as previously mentioned, has no central heating, so I have been without heat so it has been really comforting to be in CBC’s house with heating.




10. Warm hats and scarves:  So funny to get dressed up!  I love making people snigger and laugh on the Tube when I wear ridiculous hats and scarves! Oh by the way, this is a tea-cosy, not a hat! Though it would be fun to wear this on the Tube, just to see how people reacted! It's also fun to wear a tea-cosy on your hat. Essentially, that's what a beanie hat is anyway, isn't it?!



What has made you happy this week?

Ten green bottles

Hello there!  How are you this fine and chilly day?  I am well, despite a cold!  What is brilliant is that I did not have to go to school today- a total boon which I did not expect because of the snow. Yes, it was snowy, but I just assumed we'd have to go in.  What rejoicing (and prompt returning to sleep for 3.5 hours) there was when I received a text message stating as such!

Today is Monday and that can only mean my rifling in my wardrobe to find items to match the Inspiration outfit posted by the lovely Two birds, Megan and Nora. (click on the link to find out more!)
I looked delightedly on this outfit yesterday thinking, "Yes, I have green cords, yes, I have white shirt and vague boots of a similar-ish shade but did not count on my slatternly nature which found the shirt in a screwed up heap by my bedroom door, it obviously started crawling towards the laundry-basket itself, and the green cords covered in mud in the washing basket. Ah, so back to the drawing board.
Here's how I managed to interpret it eventually:

White tunic- Kush, white cable-knit jumper worn underneath - Time, Green leggings - Primark, Mink-coloured wedges- Clarks originals, Green bag- charity shop, earrings- school fair, bracelet- charity shop, Beret and gloves- Tescos, flower corsage- school fair, necklace- gift

Thank you for all your kind comments and wishes yesterday, it was really nice of you to read my long ramble and to care.  Oh, and I will get back to you re my link-guest post thingie- just finding my way back at the moment after the hiatus!

With much love,
xx

You say "Jump", I say "How high?"

This is definitely one of those, "Well you look nothing like her" Inspiration Mondays!  But what the heck!!!

It's Inspiration Monday over at the Two birds and I really wish I had this sheepskin gilet!  I'd love one!

 I actually have similar boots and jumper but there was no way I was wearing either today!!!! 
 Instead, I went for the pieces.
Jeans (well, passably similar!), M&S long ago,
Jumper, er- Gap (it has grey in it-does that count!?) bought when I slipped over in the snow in Angel, Islington, 2 years ago. Crying, I walked into GAP and bought this to make myself feel better!
Gilet (it's a gilet and it's furry! That counts!) Bay trading around 12 years ago!
Sheepskin duffle boots, Ukala, 
Hat, Joyce Anderson, Corbridge.
Grey scarf- ditto
Rabbit necklace- Wolf Moon.
Earrings (barely visible) handmade by friend.

 

Mad-hatter's tea-party ensued.

 Just in case you missed yesterday's snow antics, I decided to play again!

Go and see the other Birds here!

Have a nice Monday!!!!

Let it snow let it snow let it snow! (Singing in the snow escapades!)

Hello there!  How are you on this excitingly white day?!  My newest follower Lea (hello there, so kind of you to follow!!!) thinks I am sane, so I intend to disprove her opinion with this picture in one fell-swoop!!!!!

 It's been such fun seeing the world changed so much purely by the addition of a little frozen water!!!
I'm back!  We've had a week of prayer and such at church,which has been glorious, so I've been there much of the week and not on here!!!

 I wasn't even the slightest bit cold at church this morning!  I am quite sure I am wearing more fluffy clothes than is permissable for the average person!

 More insanity! Just after this took, as I landed, my turquoise furry muffler (dangling round my neck) bopped me in the face!  Still, better than yesterday when I was climbing a kids suspension bridge in the park and misjudged the distance to the ground and fell badly on my ankle landing in a heap!!!! Oops, how to explain that to my boss if I had seriously damaged something!

 Isn't it amazing how everything takes on an amazing Narnia-like magic and sheen in the snow! I thought I'd take some shots of my road and garden.

 I love this palm down my road.  Moreover, I love the juxtaposition of it and the snow!

 Mmmmm, makes me think of lemon drizzle cake!

 In the vicarage garden, where I took a sneaky shortcut... It really is the Secret garden in there!!! I thought of Dickon and Mary entering the garden!

I also appointed myself as adjudicator for the snowman competition and here are the finalists.

 In third place, with a stoop and rounded shoulders, suggesting more of a senior snowman, plus an unhealthy-looking carrot-cigar, we have 'Old Man (frozen) River'

 With sinister red-beady eyes and a disproportionately round lower-half in comparison to slender arms we have: "Red Round" in second place.

 In first place we have "Slim Jim" in an attractive hat and scarf combo (wins every time!) He even sweeps his own path!

 I didn't have to share the snow in my garden so after this, it was BIG footprint frenzy!

 I'm surprised these figs still remain on the tree!  The blackbirds were BACK when I went out!

 My dear Dad has been on at me for ages to get some of those springy snow-grip-things you attach to your shoes so I christened them and they are brilliant thus far!  You can attach them to any shoe. Here I attached them to my sheepskin boots and there have been no slippages! Unfortunately, my friend who doesn't have them wasn't so lucky and has hurt her recently healed fragile-broken ankle! If you want some, I got mine (Yaxtrax) from QVC here 

 The hat of course!!! I'm Lara again!

Have you had snow?  Are you expecting it?!  Sorry to blogger-friends who didn't get any! :-( 
Cheerio for now!!!!